Toe iron for safety ski bindings



April 28, 1970 o. Huss TOE IRON FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS Filed Feb. 15, 1968 ESL-3 TM n. m m w I W m. 9 M o w & \ul.

United States Patent 3,508,761 TOE IRON FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS Otto Huss, Wallgau, Bavaria, Germany, assignor to Hannes Marker, Garnisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Filed Feb. 15, 1968, Ser. No. 705,717

Claims priority, application Germany, Mar. 13, 1967,

Int. Cl. A63c 9/85 US. Cl. 28011.35 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE the soleholders for movement in the longitudinal direction thereof.

This invention relates to a toe iron for safety ski bindings, which toe iron is suitable for downhill and crosscountry skiing and comprises two soleholders, which extend rearwardly and inwardly into engagement with the skiing boot and are pivoted to a toe iron part that is fixed to the ski, said soleholders being held in their normal position under the action of a tension spring.

In that known toe iron, the opposite ends of the tension spring embrace respective soleholders, which consist of pivoted levers consisting of a bent piece of wire and coacting with the skiing boot at their free ends, which are preferably sheathed. To locate the tension spring on the soleholders, the latter are provided with notches, with which the spring end portions are engaged.

In their normal position, the soleholders are pulled by the prestressed tension spring against a stop, which is disposed between the soleholders. When the skiing boot held by the toe iron is subjected to a twisting force acting transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski and exerting on the corresponding soleholder a turning moment which exceeds the turning moment exerted by the preseressed tension spring, the soleholder will perform an outward pivotal movement against the increasing resistance of the tension spring. The spring will present the highest resistance when the soleholder has performed an outward pivotal movement to the position in which the skiing boot can free itself from the toe iron. This is not desirable because the skiing boot is then squeezed out of the binding against the high resistance and because there is a great danger that the boot may be clamped in an intermediate position before it is released.

It is an object of the invention to avoid these disadvantages in a simple and reliable manner Whereas the desired resiliency and damping action of the soleholders are preserved as well as the means for returning the soleholders when the skiing boot has been released.

In a toe iron of the kind mentioned first hereinbefore, this object is accomplished according to the invention in that the soleholders in their normal position diverge from the points of action of the spring on the soleholders to the pivots of the soleholders and the spring is connected to the soleholders for movement in the longitudinal direction thereof.

With this design, the point of action of the tension spring on a soleholder moves towards the pivot of the soleholder during an outward pivotal movement of the Patented Apr. 28, 1970 soleholder and the point of action of the spring is automatically returned when the force which has caused the outward pivotal movement is reduced. In case of an outward pivotal movement of the soleholder to such an extent that that portion of the soleholder which originally diverges from the corresponding portion of the other soleholder assumes a position in which it is parallel to said other portion, the resistance of the spring will not increase further but will remain constant during a further outward ivotal movement of the soleholder. As a result, the spring resistance peaks occurring in the use of the known toe irons are entirely eliminated so that a spring having a higher initial stress can be used and the toe portion of the skiing boot can be held more firmly than by the known toe irons.

A particularly simple and inexpensive embodiment of the invention will be obtained if the end portions of the spring are directly suspended on the soleholders and covered with a friction-reducing material, such as polytetrafiuoroethylene (FIGS. 1 and 2). Alternatively, the end portions of the spring may be suspended on the soleholders with rollers.

In the known toe iron described initially hereinbefore, there is no provision for an adaptation of the soleholders to skiing boot soles having different thicknesses. To enable a use of the toe iron with extremely thick soles, shims have been placed under the toe iron to raise the soleholders.

In a development of the toe iron, particularly that proposed according to the invention, an adjustment of the soleholders to soles having different thicknesses is enabled in that the soleholders are pivoted on an axle which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the spring, said axle is rotatably mounted in toe iron ports which are fixed to the ski, and the axle is adapted to be locked in different angular positions (FIG. 2).

Several embodiments of the invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a side elevation showing a toe iron according to a first embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 is an elevation similar to that of FIG. 1 and shows a toe iron according to a second embodiment of the invention and FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing a third embodiment of a toe iron.

The toe iron shown in FIG. 1 comprises a baseplate 1, which is adapted to be secured to a ski by means of screws. A cover hood 2 is firmly connected to the baseplate and on its two sides extending in the longitudinal direction of the ski is formed with recesses 3, which extend into the end wall which faces the toe portion of the skiing boot. Two pivoted levers 4 serve as soleholders and are pivotally connected on vertical axes to the baseplate 1. Each pivoted lever consists of a piece of wire, which is bent away from the pivotal axis and has an approximately horizontal free end portion forming the soleholder proper. That free end portion carries a covering 5, which is provided to minimize the friction between the soleholder and the skiing boot and to avoid damage to the booth. Both pivoted levers are under the influence of a tension spring 6 so that they are held in normal position in engagement with that portion of the cover hood 2 which is disposed between said levers.

According to the present invention, the pivoted levers 4 serving as soleholders diverge in their normal position from the points of action of the spring towards their pivots (see FIG. 3). Besides, the tension spring 6 is so suspended on the pivoted levers so as to be movable relative thereto in their longitudinal direction so that the point of action of the tension spring on a soleholder 4 is changed during an outward pivotal movement of the 3 soleholder. In the embodiment just described with reference to FIG. 1, the end portions of the tension spring 6 are directly suspended on the pivoted levers 4 and are covered by a sleeve 7 of friction-reducing material.

As has been mentioned hereinbefore, an outward pivotal movement of a pivoted lever 4 results in a change of the point of action of the tension spring on that pivoted lever so that the returning force acts on a larger lever arm. When the force which produces the outward pivotal movement is reduced, the point of action of the spring on the pivoted lever will be automatically returned. If one of the pivoted levers 4 performs a pivoted movement to such an extent that the portion of the lever which initially diverges from the corresponding portion of the other pivoted lever is parallel to said portion, the resistance of the tension spring 6 will not increase further but will remain constant until the skiing boot is released by the toe iron. When the skiing boot has been released, the pivoted lever 4 returns under the influence of the tension spring 6 to its normal position and the tension spring itself also returns to its initial position.

The toe iron shown in FIG. 2 corresponds substantially to the toe iron of FIG. 1. For this reason, the same reference characters are provided for like parts. In the toe iron shown in FIG. 1, the adaptation of the soleholders to skiing boot soles having different thicknesses requires an insertion of a larger or smaller number of shims or thicker or thinner shims between the toe iron and the ski. The toe iron of FIG. 2 enables a simpler adaptation of the soleholders to skiing boot soles different in thickness.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 differs from that of FIG. I in that the pivoted levers 4 are pivoted on an axle 8, which extends transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski. The axle 8 is pivoted in parts 9, which are firmly connected to the baseplate 1. For a fixation of the axle in a predetermined angular position, a plurality of holes 10 lying one beside the other are provided on its periphery. The free end of a locking screw 11 can engage one of these holes to prevent a rotation of the axle. An unintended loosening of the locking screw is prevented by a lock nut 12.

The toe iron shown in FIG. 3 corresponds basically to the design of FIG. 1 and the same reference characters are used for like parts. FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the toe iron and shows a ski portion 13 and fixing screws 14. Dilferent from the toe irons of FIGS. 1 and 2, the ends of the tension spring 6 are suspended by rollers 15 on the pivoted levers 4, which constitute the soleholders. This design provides even more desirable conditions as regards the friction between the pivoted levers and the means for mounting the springs.

What is claimed is:

1. A toe iron for safety ski bindings, which toe iron is suitable for downhill and cross-country skiing and comprises: a toe iron part fixedly mounted on a ski; first and second soleholders pivotally mounted on said toe iron part, said soleholders extending rearwardly and inwardly into engagement with the boot of the skier; a tension spring for holding said soleholders in their normal position; said soleholders being shaped such that, in their normal position, they diverge from the points of action of the spring on the soleholders to the pivoting points of the soleholders; and the spring acting on and associated with said soleholders in such a manner that when a soleholder is pivoted out of its normal position, the point of action of the spring on the soleholder changes in a longitudinal direction, and when a soleholder is pivoted out of its normal position by more than a predetermined amount, the resistance exerted by said spring remains constant.

2 A toe iron according to claim 1, wherein the end portions of the spring are directly suspended on the soleholders and are covered with a friction-reducing material.

3. A toe iron according to claim 1, characterized in that the end portions of the spring are suspended from the soleholders by means of rollers.

4. A toe iron according to claim 1 and further comprising: an axle rotatably mounted on the toe iron and extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the spring, said axle serving as a mount for said pivotally mounted soleholders; and means to lock said axle in ditferent angular positions.

5. A toe iron for safety ski bindings, which toe iron is suitable for downhill and cross-country skiing and comprises: a toe iron part fixedly mounted on a ski, first and second soleholders pivotally mounted on said toe iron part, said soleholders extending rearwardly and inwardly into engagement with the boot of the skier; and a tension spring for holding said soleholders in their normal position; an axle rotatably mounted on the toe iron and extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the spring, said axle serving as a mount for said pivotally mounted soleholders; and means to lock said axle in different angular positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,381,793 8/ 1945 Wallace.

2, 846,232 8 1958 Schnell.

3,396,987 8/ 1968 Zimmermann.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,372,663 8/ 1964 France.

1,466,968 12/ 1966 France.

1,476,272 2/ 1967 France.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner M. L. SMITH, Assistant Examiner 

